Where Do We Go From Here?
by Ninja-Consultant
Summary: A sequel to Brothers in Arms, this seven-part story follows Superboy and Match. What happens to them now, and how do they cope with the challenges, both mundane and extraordinary, that confront them? Completed.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: DC Comics owns all rights to the characters within. They are used without permission and not meant to infringe on copyrights or meant to generate income.

* * *

Where Do We Go From Here, chapter 1

There's a time for understanding and there's a time for frustration. Match's behavior was crossing the line from the former to the latter.

He's gotten healthier, at least physically. He's still a good fifteen to twenty pounds lighter than I am, but that's an improvement over the forty that he was at the time we found him.

His attitude's really starting to piss me off though. He's not annoying; he's not smug; he's just...distant. Maybe that's the way he's always been, but it didn't seem like it before.

Maybe I'll stop tiptoeing around and just ask him what's going on.

* * *

Match was watching a news program when Kon walked in.

"What'ca up to?" he asked.

Match turned around. Kon noted that he looked calm, as always. He also noticed that Match's hair had grown down to his shoulders.

"I'm keeping up with current events, Superboy," he replied.

"You don't have to call me that. You can call me Kon."

"Kon?"

"Yeah, it's my name. It's short for Kon-El."

"I wasn't aware that you had one other than Superboy. Connell is a good name, but why something Scottish?"

"It's not Connell, it's Kon-El," Kon said, stressing the two different syllables. "It's Kryptonian; Superman gave it to me. I'm named after one of his cousins."

"Oh. I didn't know that."

Kon took a look at the program Match was watching. "Hey, is that in French?"

"Yes. It's helpful to get a different perspective on events."

There was a pause.

"Okay, I'm not good at this," Kon admitted. "What's wrong with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you're distant and not talking about what happened to you."

"What's to talk about? It happened."

"Now I know something's wrong. You didn't try to deny it."

"The ordeal was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting. It also depleted whatever solar reserves I had."

"Weren't you in some sort of trance? That's what the Martian Manhunter said."

* * *

At that moment, Match gave me a bitter smile and let some of the pain he'd been bottling up show. This display of emotion showed me that there was a serious cost to his survival; a cost that no one had guessed at.

* * *

"Telekinesis is a psychic power," Match lectured. "It's not an automatic power like Wonder Woman's strength." 

"I know that," Kon said. "What are you getting at?"

"It means that I had to actively exercise my power that entire time. What the Martian Manhunter thought was a trance was actually me focusing all my concentration on regulating my body's functions."

"You only did it while you were awake, right? You couldn't have done it when you were asleep."

"No. If I let myself fall asleep, I would have cut my survival time by two-thirds."

Kon gave him a shocked look. "You mean, you were awake for those entire three weeks?"

Match nodded. "The human mind's not supposed to stay awake for that length of time. It's especially not supposed to be aware of being buried for that time."

Match started crying. "It was awful! Knowing about the rubble all around me...knowing that I could only survive if someone found me..."

Kon hugged him and let him sob on his shoulder.

* * *

I had no idea that he had been through all of that. It's...incredible how strong he forced himself to be. It's incredible...and a little horrifying. I can see now that the events had traumatized him. I hope that he'll let me help him recover. 

Many thanks to everyone who commented on my earlier story, Brothers in Arms. Where Do We Go From Here? is a continuation of that story with a little more of a psychological focus on the characters. It may not have as many action scenes, but I hope that everyone enjoys it!

Any and all comments welcome!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: DC Comics owns all rights to the characters within. They are used without permission and not meant to infringe on copyrights or meant to generate income.

* * *

Where Do We Go From Here, chapter 2 

Match was uncomfortable. Not only was he wearing one of Superboy's spare costumes, but he was on monitor duty in the JLA Watchtower. Flash was supposed to be on duty, but a personal emergency called him away. Match was pretty sure that Batman would not be happy to see him on monitor duty.

Match admitted to himself that wearing Superboy's costume was probably more disconcerting. For one thing, he hadn't regained all his lost muscle mass, so it hung loosely on him. For another thing, he felt like he was impersonating Kon again. He didn't want to ever hurt him that way again.

Match was a bit frustrated that his solar reserves hadn't charged up enough for him to use his powers. He was accustomed to having them and didn't like feeling vulnerable.

He sighed. It was very nice of the JLA to let him recover at the Watchtower, but his future was uncertain. Remnants of the Groups would probably be searching for him. He didn't have a legal identity, so he couldn't just try to start a normal life even without considering that he would be classified as a minor.

He pushed his concerns away and concentrated on monitor duty. He thought it wasn't particularly challenging, but it kept him occupied. Oracle also checked in on him. He got the feeling she was making sure that he didn't mess up any of her systems. Comments she made seemed to allude to others doing that in the past.

A red light flashed on his console. He frowned and contacted Oracle.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"There's a security breach at the Watchtower."

* * *

Match checked the surveillance cameras. There were six intruders. They all wore commando-style uniforms, and he could tell by their movements that they were well-trained. They were also quickly making their way to his location. Oracle had told him that reinforcements would arrive in ten minutes. 

He locked down the console and made his way towards a systems room. Perhaps he could evade them for that time.

Unfortunately, one of them saw him and shouted, "Get him!"

Match was able to take cover before he heard shots ring out. He frowned. He didn't like the odds of him being unarmed against the six armed and trained commandoes.

"Who was it?" he heard one of them ask.

"I think it was one of Superman's kids," was the reply.

'One of Superman's kids!' Match thought to himself. 'Better to be known as Superboy's clone than that!'

There was a system that could even the odds considerably, he realized. He made a dash for it and managed to dodge any shots.

He turned off the Watchtower's artificial gravity. He felt his body lighten. He smiled. He was willing to be that he was the only one there who had zero-G training. Even if this wasn't perfect weightlessness, it was good enough.

He left the system room and took cover after being spotted. Shots rang out, followed by curses as the effect of the recoil shoved those shooting off their feet. That was what Match was waiting for.

He propelled himself like a shot and disabled one of the intruders with a strike to the throat. He was careful to only strike with enough force to disable, not kill. He then flung himself away, right before more shots were fired.

"Turn the gravity back on," he heard one of the remaining intruders say.

Match was propelling himself down a corridor when the artificial gravity came back. He crashed to the floor and clenched his teeth to prevent from crying out. He wrestled off a cover on an air duct and started crawling in it.

Everything felt like it was pressing in on him. He gasped for breath. He got out of the air duct and stood trembling for a moment. He couldn't go back in, not with everything pressing in on him. It took him another moment to recover before heading down the corridor again.

"There could be better times to discover I've become claustrophobic," he muttered to himself.

The time he spent on his abortive attempt to crawl through the air ducts and the time he needed to recover cost him as the five active intruders caught up with him. They aimed their weapons at him, and Match realized he had nowhere left to run. He closed his eyes and heard shots being fired.

He opened his eyes to see that Superboy had arrived and shielded him.

"Match, stay back while I take care of this," he ordered.

Kon took care of the intruders in fairly short order.

"You need to take better care of yourself," he admonished. "What would you have done if I hadn't been here?"

"I would have been shot," Match admitted. "Thank you."

"Hey, it was my turn to save you."

Match paused. "You got here in eight minutes, thirty-two seconds. Oracle said it would be ten minutes before anyone got here. I'm not complaining, mind you."

"I may have broken a few speed records. You needed help."

Match smiled. "I'm glad you came."

* * *

Extra scientific fact: the moon's gravity is roughly one-sixty that of the Earth's. So, since the Watchtower is on the moon, that's why it isn't perfect weightlessness. Who said that you couldn't learn things from fanfiction!

Also, to clarify a little bit, I tend to wait until I have a story fully written before I start posting it. That's why there was a long gap between stories.

Any and all comments welcome!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: DC Comics owns all rights to the characters within. They are used without permission and not meant to infringe on copyrights or meant to generate income.

* * *

Where Do We Go From Here, chapter 3 

Kon was nervous. He was witnessing a face-off with Batman and Superman on one side and Match on the other. Neither side looked like they were going to budge. Both sides knew this conversation was coming, but it had been delayed by circumstances or one side avoiding the issue.

Match said, "I am very grateful to the JLA for saving my life and looking after me during my recuperation. However, I am ready to leave the Watchtower."

"I don't like the idea of you running around without supervision," Batman stated.

"I don't think it's wise for you to leave the Watchtower," Superman added.

"Why not?" Match asked.

Kon winced. He could hear the slightest bit of strain in Match's voice as he forced himself to be calm.

"I'm worried about your saftey," Superman said. "The remnants of the Groups we haven't caught could be after you."

"It's not safe for me here, either," Match pointed out. "The commandoes evaded your security. What would happen if it were someone on the scale of Gorilla Grodd?"

"You need to be supervised," Batman said.

"My powers have not yet returned," Match noted. "I am merely a normal person."

Kon tried not to choke on hearing that. Match had demonstrated a wide variety of talents during his time in the Watchtower. He would not have described him as being a 'normal person.'

Batman apparently agreed with him, as he repeated, "You need to be supervised."

"I'll do it," Kon volunteered, surprising himself by entering this discussion.

"What do you mean?" Batman asked, his tone colder than usual.

Kon forced himself to not back down. "I'll look after him. I'll keep him safe and make sure that he doesn't do anything wrong."

"You can't do that," Superman objected. "Your other identity has secrets that aren't yours to give."

Kon hesitated. He hadn't thought of that.

"I'll give that identity up. I won't be that person or live that life anymore."

Kon felt a gap in his stomach as he realized he just said he'd stop being Conner Kent.

Match saw Kon's reaction. "Don't do this."

Kon smiled sadly at Match. "You may not want to admit it, but you need someone. Not just for safety, but to be there for you."

"Do you realize what you're doing?" Superman asked.

"One of the things I've been taught is that family is important. I'm not going to abandon my brother."

Match was silent, his eyes brimming with tears.

"Where will you go?" Batman asked.

Kon paused. "I don't know yet, I haven't thought that much ahead. Perhaps we'll make Metropolis our home."

"You won't be going anywhere," Superman said.

"It's our choice," Kon said, holding back a flash of anger.

"I've decided to let Match stay with you. I'll tell him my secret."

Kon couldn't believe what he heard. "Why?"

"You reminded me of something. Family is important."

Superman turned to Match. "It's going to take some time to set up. You may have to wait here a while longer."

Match nodded and said softly, "Thank you. I won't let you down."

* * *

Any and all comments welcome! 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: DC Comics owns all rights to the characters within. They are used without permission and not meant to infringe on copyrights or meant to generate income.

* * *

Where Do We Go From Here, chapter 4

Over the next two months, an identity was created for Match; he became Maxwell Kent. Oracle had already gone through all the steps of creating an identity before, but this was a little trickier since it also involved amending Conner's history to include a previously undiscovered twin.

Match was surprised to learn that Superman was really Clark Kent. He hadn't thought that Superman had a civilian identity.

Kon got a cool reaction from Robin, Wondergirl, and Kid Flash about the news that Match was going to be living with him. Kon was a little hurt by their reaction, but knew that it was understandable given their experiences with him.

It was a little eerie to Kon how quickly Match took to his new secret identity. When he mentioned this, Match reminded him that he had experience in undercover work.

During this time, Match's hair had grown to be halfway down his back. Dr. Mid-nite had speculated that it was temporarily growing at an accelerated rate due to his regulation of his body's functions. In any event, the growth was returning to its regular rate.

Match hadn't regained all the muscle mass he had lost and was still about 12 pounds lighter than Kon. Kon's clothes hung loosely on him when he wore them.

* * *

Before Match left the Watchtower to move in with the Kents, Batman paid him a visit.

"You're going to be leaving soon," he stated.

Match nodded. He knew that Batman was against his leaving, much less being told Superman's civilian identity.

"You've been entrusted with a great secret. If you betray that secret..."

"If you don't trust my emotions, will you trust my logic? It would be suicidal to have both the JLA and the remains of the Groups as enemies. I am many things, but suicidal is not one of them."

"I generally make it a point to not trust others."

"Trust has never been a part of my life before, but I'm learning to trust a few people."

* * *

Match was outwardly calm, but nervous inside. He was going to be meeting the Kents for the first time. He wasn't sure what he should say or do. Kon had told him to 'be himself' but he wasn't sure that was a good idea. 

Superman (Clark, Match reminded himself) noticed him looking tense. "What's wrong?"

"It's unimportant."

"You're nervous, aren't you?"

"Perhaps a little."

"You'll be fine, Max. My parents are great people."

"Conner's told me about them. They sound like nice people."

"You'll love them," Clark assured the teen.

Max went back to quietly worrying.

As they approached the door, he briefly entertained the thought of running away, but forced himself to put it out of his head.

Clark opened the door and called out, "Ma! Pa! We're here!"

Match entered the house and looked for a place to put his duffle bag when an elderly woman bustled in.

"Clark, it's wonderful to see you!" she exclaimed. "Pa and Conner are preparing a bed for our new family member. You must be Max. Goodness, you're so thin! Didn't they feed you anything? I'm Martha."

"Hello, Mrs. Kent," Max said softly. "Thank you for letting me live with you. I hope that I'm not causing you any trouble."

"Nonsense! You're family; it's no problem at all. You needn't be so formal either, call me Aunt Martha. Now, I'm sure the two of you must be famished, but you'll want to drop off your bag in your room. You'll be sharing with Conner, I hope that's okay?"

"Of course."

"I'll show you where it is," Clark volunteered. "It used to be my old room."

Clark took him upstairs and pointed out where Ma and Pa's room was and where the bathroom was. They ended up in the other bedroom where Conner and Pa were finishing setting up a cot.

"Clark, you're early!" Pa said. "I thought we had a little while longer to set this up."

He turned to Max. "You must be Max. I'm Jonathan."

"Hello, Mr. Kent," was Match's reply. "You didn't need to go to this trouble."

"It's no trouble. You're family after all. And call me Uncle Jon. Mr. Kent sounds like we're complete strangers."

Max banished the thought that they were complete strangers and instead said, "I'll make up the cot."

"You don't have to," objected Conner. "I'll do it."

"It's fine," Max said, taking the sheets from him and quickly preparing the cot.

"Ma's making dinner," Clark said. "We should go down before anything gets cold."

Ma Kent had prepared a large dinner, figuring that with two teenagers and Clark, it would be eaten quickly. Clark and Conner had appetites that met her expectations, but Max ate less than she thought he would.

The conversation at dinner was very casual. Max was very polite but talked infrequently.

"You'll be starting school tomorrow," Pa mentioned. "I drive Conner there at seven in the morning. That's not going to be a problem for you to be ready by then, is it?"

"It will be fine," he replied.

"Are you going to do anything about your hair?" Martha asked. "It's a little unusual."

"I hadn't thought about it," Max admitted. "There wasn't a barber on the JLA Watchtower, so I've just been taking care of it as best I could."

"You might get a few comments about it at school," Conner said. "They're kind of conservative here."

"I'll get it cut soon."

* * *

While Conner and Max were taking care of the dishes, Clark and his parents were having a whispered conversation. 

"He's quiet, isn't he?" Martha commented.

"He's just a little shy," Clark said. "He's still getting used to the idea of being here."

"I hope he liked the food," she fretted. "He didn't eat as much as I thought he would."

"Martha, the boy's probably not used to that kind of a spread," Jonathan assured her. "I mean, he's all skin and bones."

* * *

In the kitchen, Conner said, "They're taking about you, you know." 

Max began washing the dishes. "I know."

"You want to tell me what's wrong?"

"Why do you think there's something wrong?"

Conner started drying the clean dishes. "I've spent a lot of time with you over the last few months. I've got a pretty good read on you."

"I'm not good with people," Max admitted. "I'm nervous, and I'm pretty sure that I've already managed to offend them."

"What happened to the cool and collected person you were when we fought against the Groups?"

"I was in my element then. Infiltrating a heavily guarded building, take down guards, and retrieve secure information? I know how to do that. Have a family dinner with casual conversation? I don't know where to begin."

"I'm just not going to understand you, am I?"

Max thought about it as he continued to wash the dishes. "Probably not."

* * *

Just a little explanation. Where Do We Go From Here? is listed as a Drama first, then an Action/Adventure, so there's a lot more focus on characters and how they relate to each other than in Brothers in Arms which had the two flipped. 

All comments welcome!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: DC Comics owns all rights to the characters within. They are used without permission and not meant to infringe on copyrights or meant to generate income.

* * *

Where Do We Go From Here, chapter 5 

Conner had an uneasy feeling. He wasn't sure why, but as Max and he got into the Kent family truck to go to school, he had a feeling that something bad would happen. It was Max's first day at school, and the potential for disaster was high.

Max and Uncle Jonathan went to the office to complete the paperwork for Max's enrollment. Conner thought it was very unfair that Max didn't have to wear glasses yet. Since he wasn't going to be using his powers and he had looked different enough with his long hair and weight loss, it was decided that Max could do without glasses. It also helped that Match was not widely known.

He was getting settled in homeroom when he heard one of his classmates say, "Have you seen that new girl? She's hot!"

Conner resolved to keep an eye out for this new girl. Maybe the day wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Yeah, she's hot even though she dresses a bit tomboyish," another one said. "She came with Kent; think she's a relative of his or something?"

Conner wanted to put his head in his hands and groan. He knew he should have stayed in bed. Thankfully, talk returned to the usual topics of people trying to finish homework and making plans for when school ended.

In his first class (English), the teacher announced that they would put on a production of Romeo and Juliet. Normally, Conner would be okay with this except the class was going to be combined with another one and there were twice as many students as parts. The teachers had decided that they would put Romeo and Juliet on as done in Shakespeare's days, that is, with an entirely male cast. The girls would put on A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Everybody had to give a brief sample to see what part they'd be assigned. Conner went first and gave a decent sample. However, he was horrified to see that every other boy was being purposely bad. Nobody wanted to do well and get cast as Juliet, not even the drama-oriented boys.

Near the end of class, he heard someone whisper, "There's the new girl!"

Conner turned to see Max handing his schedule to the teacher. He was immediately prompted to give his sample, and he gave a pretty good one. The bell rang after he finished, and the teachers announced that parts would be posted by the end of the day. Max went over to Conner.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"We're giving a performance of Romeo and Juliet. I think you nailed one of the lead roles."

Max blinked. "I wasn't that good."

"Sure you were. You weren't here to see it, but the others were being bad on purpose. Let me see your schedule."

Conner took a glance at it. It was the same as his.

"Come on, we've got math next."

One of the boys went up to Max and asked, "Would you like me to carry your books for you?"

Max blinked in confusion, and Conner started to drag him off.

"Sorry, we're going to be late," Conner apologized.

On the way to class, Max asked, "Why did he want to carry my books? Is this some kind of joke or was he being nice?"

"He thought you were a girl."

"Oh."

"You're taking this calmly."

"I guess I should cut my hair."

They got to class right before the bell rang, and Max showed his schedule to the teacher before retreating to a seat by Conner. He was quiet in class but seemed to understand things fine.

These events basically repeated themselves until lunch. While the two were eating, a couple of the popular girls came up to them.

"We're here to welcome you to Smallville High," one of them addressed Max.

"I love your hair," the other gushed. "Is it your natural color?"

"Thank you," Max said. "It is."

"And I know we've just met, but you're a big topic here. Where are you from? Do you have a boyfriend from your old school? Have you considered how good you'd look in a pale pink dress?"

Max paused before answering. "I'm from the northern part of New York. I'm not dating anyone at the moment. I don't wear dresses because I'm a man."

The two girls were shocked at this news. "No way!"

"It's true."

"But, but your hair! Your figure!"

"I was in an accident recently," he explained. "My hair grew out while I was recovering. I also dropped a lot of weight I haven't put back on yet."

The two girls walked off, still stunned.

"Do I look that much like a girl?" he asked Conner.

Conner considered the question. "Yeah, I guess you do. Which is scary because it means if I lost the weight and grew my hair long, I would too."

"I suppose I had better make sure that all my teachers are aware."

Conner nodded. "Especially the English teacher. She's casting parts in the play."

After finishing eating, Max went off to do that while Conner reviewed the physics chapter. He had a test next period and wanted to do well on it.

After a time, Max came back. "Our English teacher was very happy. She said that it made things so much easier."

Conner would have responded, but the bell rang indicating that lunch was over. "Physics class is next."

Conner wondered briefly how Max would do on the test without any studying. He hoped that the teacher wouldn't count it or would let him do a makeup test.

The last class of the day was gym. There was a little commotion in the locker room as some hadn't heard about Max. He had to state "I'm a man" a couple more times.

At the end of the day, the two went to see what their assigned roles in Romeo and Juliet were. Conner had mixed feelings on being cast as Romeo. On one hand, he was happy to have done well. On the other hand, it meant he would have to put a lot of work into it.

They had to go see the teacher one by one, so Conner was flipping through the script while waiting for Max to receive his assigned part. Conner looked up as he left the room.

"What part did you get?" he asked. He had already told Max that he had gotten Romeo.

"Juliet," Max answered.

Conner stared. "I guess you won't be cutting your hair then."

* * *

The Kents were delighted to hear that the two were cast as the leads in the play. Actually, they were a little tentative when they first heard Max was cast as Juliet, but when it was explained that it was an all-male cast like in Shakespeare's time, the apprehension turned to delight. 

After dinner was finished and the dishes were washed, Max excused himself and went to his room. When Conner entered, Max hastily wiped his eyes and turned away.

"You're crying," Conner said softly, not wanting to alert the Kents. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Max sniffed, an obvious lie.

Conner closed the door and put a hand on Max's shoulder. He was trembling. He turned Max around to look him in the face.

"What's wrong?" he repeated. "I'm here for you."

"I can't do this," Max said softly. "Everybody's been so nice, but all the people...I'm not strong enough to do this."

"You're overwhelmed," Conner said, surprised. "It is a lot to take in, and it's happened so fast."

"I can't deal with people. I don't know how to do it."

Conner hugged Max. "It's okay. You'll learn how to do it. I'm here for you. You don't have to do it alone."

* * *

Any comments welcome! 


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: DC Comics owns all rights to the characters within. They are used without permission and not meant to infringe on copyrights or meant to generate income.

Where Do We Go From Here, chapter 6

When they returned home the next day, a surprise awaited them.

"Lois and Clark are here for a visit," Martha told them. "They'll be here for the rest of the week."

"Conner, Max, it's good to see you again!" Clark said as he clapped the two on the back.

"Hey Clark," Conner said.

"Hello, Clark," Max said.

"Max, you've never met my wife," Clark said. "Honey, could you-"

"In a minute, Smallville," a voice called out. "I'm filing a story right now."

"I thought you did that before we left."

"I got inspired on the way here. I made some changes."

Clark sighed. "You work too hard."

A minute later, Lois came into the room. "I'm all done. Happy now?"

She turned to the two teens. "Hey, Conner. You're looking well. You must be Max. I'm Lois Lane."

"You're the Lois Lane?" Max asked. "The same Lois Lane that wrote the piece on corruption in Lexcorp's microprocessor plant?"

Lois smiled. "Yeah, that got published a couple weeks ago. It took a lot of work, but I think it turned out well."

"That was a brilliant piece!" Max exclaimed. "You had to follow a tenuous link for what, months?"

"Yeah," Lois said. "Clark never mentioned you were a fan."

"I started reading the Daily Planet through before I came here. I still read most of it before I go to school."

"I write for the Planet, too," Clark reminded Max. "What do you think of my work?"

Max hesitated. "Your work is...good. It's very good, very solid reporting."

Clark looked slightly offended at Max's hesitation. Lois and Conner burst out laughing.

"He's got taste, Smallville," Lois said.

"I-I'm sorry," Max stammered. "I didn't mean to offend..."

"No, it's fine," Clark said. "Lois does devote a lot of time and energy to her job. I do too, but my focus gets split because of time in costume."

At dinner that night, Martha asked, "How was school today?"

"I got the physics test back today," Conner said. "I got a hundred on it."

"That's great!" Jonathan beamed. "How'd you do on it, Max?"

Max looked up from his plate. "Oh, I scored one hundred too."

"We have two very smart boys here," Ma said.

"I thought you only spent fifteen minutes on it," Conner said.

"That's correct. I already knew everything on it."

Conner sighed. "It's so unfair that you have better implanted knowledge than me."

"Have you told Lois and Clark about the play yet?" Ma prompted.

"Our English class is doing a performance of Romeo and Juliet as in the days of Shakespeare," Conner said. "So, it's an all-male cast. I'm Romeo."

"Congratulations on getting a lead role," Clark said, smiling. "What about you, Max? Did you get Tybalt, maybe?"

"I was assigned the role of Juliet."

There was a pause.

"Okay, that's just going to look weird," Lois said.

"Lois!" Clark said, shocked.

"No, look at it," she continued. "You guys look identical. When you're on stage, don't you think it's going to look that way more?"

"With my hair done differently and in makeup, I expect that I'll look different enough," Max said.

"How are you going to handle the kiss?" Lois asked.

"What do you mean?" Conner asked.

"It's Romeo and Juliet. There has to be a kiss."

"I haven't thought about it."

As Conner was in bed and Max was in the cot, Conner asked, "How are we going to manage the kiss?"

"Just pretend I'm Robin," Max replied.

"What!"

"You are Robin are so close, I just assumed that you, you know, experimented."

"Something like that's never happened! And, it never will!"

Clark opened the door. "Are you all right? I heard shouting."

Max apologized. "It's my fault. I'm sorry."

"He made an assumption," Conner said. "A very wrong assumption!"

"I'm very sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."

* * *

The next morning, Max was more skittish than usual. 

Finally, Conner confronted him about it. "Look, I'm not angry anymore. You don't have to cringe every time I look at you."

"You must hate me."

Conner gave a frustrated sigh. "I don't. I was angry, but I got over it. It took me by surprise more than anything."

Max gave him a doubting look.

"Okay, I'm going to have to remind you that you have a backbone."

With that, Conner threw a punch at Max. He caught it and flipped Conner to the ground. Max then took a step back, horrified.

"I'm sorry!"

Conner chuckled. "You shouldn't be. I'm the one who threw the punch."

"Why'd you do that?"

Conner got up and dusted himself off. "I wanted to provoke a reaction. You over-think things too much."

Max shook his head and then smiled. "So you're my psychologist now?"

"Think of me as your hand to hand psychologist."

* * *

To be concluded

I'm sorry, I couldn't resist teasing the fandom a little.

Any and all comments welcome!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: DC Comics owns all rights to the characters within. They are used without permission and not meant to infringe on copyrights or meant to generate income.

Where Do We Go From Here, chapter 7

It was a month after Max had moved in with the Kents. He was in the JLA Watchtower sitting in front of Batman.

"How has your first month gone?" Batman asked.

Match replied, "It's gone well, thank you. It took a little bit of adjustment, but I think I'm settling in."

* * *

At Titan's Tower, Superboy was being questioned by Wonder Woman. 

"How has Match been adjusting?" she asked.

"It's a little harder for him than he wants to admit," he answered. "He's doing okay, though."

* * *

Clark sat down with his parents at their kitchen table. 

"How's Max doing?" he asked. "No problems, I hope."

"He's very polite and helpful," Jonathan replied.

"He seems a bit nervous," Martha said.

"What do you mean by that?" Clark asked.

"He's quiet," Martha replied. "He looks surprised when we thank him."

* * *

"Have there been any incidents where you've compromised your other identity?" 

"No."

* * *

"He hasn't done anything in his civilian identity to reveal he's Match, has he?" Wonder Woman asked. 

"No, he's really good at the secret identity thing," Conner replied. "He's a natural at it. I wasn't as good when I started. Of course, he's got his spy training."

* * *

"Matt hasn't done anything to reveal his powers, has he?" Clark asked. 

"No, he's very good about that," Martha said. "I'm not sure I'd think he had powers at all if I didn't know better."

"Are his powers even back?" Jonathan asked. "I haven't seen him use them at all."

* * *

"What's the status of your powers?" 

"I estimate that I'm at five percent of my previous level. It's a slow recovery. I haven't demonstrated any of the extra abilities that Superboy has recently manifested."

* * *

"How are you getting along with him?" Wonder Woman asked. 

"It's a little stressful sometimes," Superboy admitted. "I'm not used to having someone my age in the house or sharing a room. He's also so perfect that it annoys me sometimes. Still, he gives me room if I need it, and I do the same for him."

* * *

"How's he fitting in at school?" Clark asked. 

"He doesn't talk a lot about it, but he's doing very well," Martha said. "He and Conner are the top students of their year."

"Both of them?" Clark asked, surprised.

"I think Max's being here has got Conner more focused," Jonathan said. "He hasn't had any more attendance problems and is trying harder."

"That's good to hear," Clark said.

* * *

"How is your physical condition?" 

"I've fully recovered. I've resumed most aspects of my fitness routine."

"What does that involve?"

"I run for approximately ten miles. I also perform calisthenics."

"Where do you find the time for this?"

"Before the others in the household have woken."

* * *

"Anything you think we should know?" Wonder Woman asked. 

"He's hard to get to know, but he's a good guy. He can occasionally do or say something that sets me off, but it's unintentional. I think he's actually helped me out a bit."

"How?"

"I've become more responsible. I have a little brother to look out for, right?"

* * *

"How are the two of you dealing with two teenagers?" Clark asked. 

"It's not as difficult as I thought it would be," Martha confessed. "Conner's come around, and Max helps out a lot. He's taken over some of the household chores which makes life easier."

"I was used to it just being the two of us," Jonathan said. "It was nice to get some time alone on the weekends, but that won't happen until Max fully recovers."

"I might be able to get him out of here on the weekend," Clark said. "How are you doing financially?"

Martha and Jonathan exchanged an uncomfortable glance.

"Not as good as we hoped," Jonathan finally said. "We're getting by."

"You should have told me!" Clark said. "I can help out."

"You shouldn't have to," Martha protested.

"It's because I asked that you're taking care of them. Lois and I make more than enough between the two of us to help."

* * *

Batman, the Martian Manhunter, Superman, and Wonder Woman met in the Watchtower. 

"He's guarded," Batman started. "He claims to have adjusted, but he could be lying."

"I sensed no deception from him," the Martian Manhunter said. "However, he has an extraordinarily disciplined mind and would likely sense my intrusion if I went beyond surface thoughts."

"I think he's hiding something," Superman admitted. "I don't think he means to betray anyone."

"We should confront him about it and make him divulge his secrets," Wonder Woman said forcefully. "It will settle any concerns we have."

"That would imply that we don't trust him," Superman pointed out.

"I don't," Batman said bluntly.

"He was an enemy just a short time ago," Wonder Woman added.

"He deceived your charges," J'onn said. "That could be affecting your judgment."

"That reinforces my point," Batman replied. "If he can deceive a trained observer like Robin, then it's better to be sure."

"It should color my judgment," Diana said. "What has he done to deserve the benefit of the doubt?"

"He saved Superboy's life," J'onn reminded them. "He did that despite suffering serious injuries."

"You've asked our opinions," Batman told Superman. "We've given them to you. The final decision is yours."

Batman stood up and left. Wonder Woman followed.

"You're troubled," J'onn told Superman.

"They make excellent points," Superman admitted. "It would be logical to follow their advice."

"It would. You're not a creature of pure logic, though."

"I'm not. I want to trust him. He's been good for Kon. His presence has helped him adjust."

"There's more to it than that, isn't there?"

Superman colored and looked at the ground. He paused before continuing.

"Did I ever tell you what happened in our first meeting? I was an energy being at the time, so perhaps my discomfort with that affected me. It's just an excuse though."

J'onn remained silent.

"Superboy was melting, and it didn't look like he'd make it. I felt guilty, guilty for holding him at arm's length. I wanted to save him to have the chance to make up for any deficiencies in our relationship. Match represented the best chance to save him. I didn't see him as a human being, just as an object. Can you believe that I told Steel to 'get the clone?' I didn't even acknowledge his name."

"You're worried that you may be trying to make up for that?"

"In part. I'm worried that I'm falling into the same line of thought. I'm concerned about how his presence affects my parents or Conner. Whether it's a good thing for them. I haven't been asking whether it's been good for him."

"You don't have the emotional attachment to him that you do to them. Not yet."

"I don't like thinking this way."

"It is your choice. You may wish to consider one last question."

"What's that?"

"Batman and Wonder Woman gave you reasons to not trust him. You've given reasons why you want to trust him. Do you trust him?"

Superman stared at him for a moment before ruefully smiling. "You always know how to put things in perspective, don't you J'onn?"

He continued. "I do trust him."

* * *

The end 

I'm going to take the opportunity to thank everyone who's commented on this story and Brothers in Arms.

Match is slowly recovering his powers. When Superboy's powers were drained, his recovery was slow, so I decided to take it the same way.

I am currently working on a sequel tentatively titled "Tragedies of the Past" that would be classified as an action/adventure-angst story.

Any and all comments welcome!


End file.
